New Jersey’s Middle Thorofare Bridge will remain closed for the foreseeable future due to technical difficulties, authorities said on Sunday.
To allow commercial vessels to pass through, the “Two-Mile Bridge,” which connects Wildwood Crest and Diamond Beach to Cape May, will remain in the upright position, said Wildwood Crest Mayor Don Cabrera in an early Sunday morning Facebook post. All vehicles, bikes, and pedestrian traffic will have to take alternate routes.
According to the mayor, the problem was a motor that could not be repaired.
In a statement released later in the afternoon, the Cape May Bridge Commission said the bridge experienced a “total failure of the drive shaft motor that was used to open the bridge on demand” at around 10 a.m. on Saturday.
“The bridge electrical engineers performed many tests, concluding that the motor was inoperable and irreparable,” the Bridge Commission said.
The mayor said there’s currently no timeline on when the bridge will reopen, adding that it could be closed for “an extended period of time.”
“The Bridge Commission is currently reviewing all options available both nationally and globally to source this highly specialized motor with the goal of replacement as soon as possible,” the agency said. Even in the best-case scenario, this may be “taking many weeks.”
The bridge will remain in the up position as vessels have the right of way, Cape May County Sheriff’s Office said on social media.
“The commercial fishing industry needs ocean and dock access.”
The bridge provides access to New Jersey’s largest commercial fishing port.
The Middle Thorofare bridge was built in 1939, and received extensive repairs from the 1970s through the 1990s. According to the Cape May Bridge Commission, the bridge has been identified as a first priority for replacement; a 2019 inspection report rated the overall condition of the bridge as “critical due to the low inventory ratings.”
$7.5 million worth of repairs were spent on the bridge’s railing and fender systems in 2021, in addition to upgrades to its toll booths.
A 2022 bridge replacement and improvement plan prepared by the Cape May County Department of Engineering, in cooperation with the Cape May County Bridge Commission, recommended replacing the bridge’s electrical systems.
“The existing motor, drive controls, and Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) system are obsolete with parts unavailable for the drive controls and PLC systems,” the document states, as it proposes to have the motor and its drive controls replaced between 2022 and the end of 2023.
The agency’s 2023 bridge replacement and improvement plan mentioned that the schedule for the motor replacement had been extended for a year—until the end of 2024.
NTD reached out to the Cape May County Bridge Commission for further information.